WHEN it comes to the pre-match atmosphere tomorrow, Bloomfield Road will take some beating.

Both sets of supporters have good reason to be cheerful after strong starts which are in stark contrast to the last campaign.

While Oxford United have picked up more points already than they managed in the whole of last August, Blackpool’s rocky beginning 12 months ago included manager Gary Bowyer walking out.

U’s head coach Karl Robinson can feel justifiably upbeat, but he sounded a note of caution ahead of the long trip north – hard-won momentum can easily vanish.

“There’s a nice vibe about the place,” he said.

“But equally with this industry we could be sat here in seven days’ time in a much less confident position if we take things for granted and become arrogant, lose our discipline or stop believing in the basics.

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“From me beating the drum last year saying we’ll be OK to all of a sudden winning games, it’s a complete role reversal.

“We’ve just got to make sure we find a consistency in our game now.”

A combination of slow progress in the transfer market and what looked a daunting set of opening fixtures meant expectations were low heading into the campaign.

Robinson admits he would have been pleasantly surprised at that point if he had been offered two wins and a draw from the opening three games.

But for him, the mood changed on the eve of the season.

He said: “It’s really weird but from that Monday leading into the first game, something clicked.

“Elliott (Moore) came in, Tariqe Fosu was getting fit, Cadds (Chris Cadden) was starting to get going.

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“It was almost like Ben (Woodburn) was the missing connection.

“Even when he came on in midweek the game changed with the way he links things.

“We don’t have any superstars, but we’ve found a system that works at this moment in time.”

Blackpool’s buoyant mood is only partly explained by topping the fledgling table as one of only three teams in Sky Bet League One with two wins from two.

Since United’s last visit in February they have been taken over, which has seen supporters who had boycotted games come flooding back.

And Robinson believes they are genuine promotion contenders under Simon Grayson.

He said: “When you watch their team you can see they’ve been coached in a way where there’s perfect rotations and there are areas they hit which they flood and make it difficult.

“There’s no getting away from the fact you’re coming up against one of the better managers.

“You know how hard it’s going to be, but equally with the personality of the staff at Blackpool you also know the players will be fighting for them and each other.

“We’re under no illusions how difficult it’s going to be, arguably are most difficult from our first three games because of the results they’ve picked up.”